Tiger Woods pulls out of PGA Championship, replaced by Varner III

Tiger Woods has withdrawn from the 2016 PGA Championship, making official that the 14-time major champion will not compete in any of golf’s four majors this year as we near the one-year mark since Woods last played competitively.[restrict]

The PGA of America announced Woods’ withdrawal with the release of the final full field for next week’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol in New Jersey. Harold Varner III will replace Woods in the field.

Woods did not make public comment following his decision to withdraw from the British Open. However, this time, Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, indicated the 40-year-old will not make his competitive return until at least October.

In an email to Golf Channel, Steinberg said, “Continuing to make progress, but simply not ready for PGA. Will not play in the ’15/’16 season and will continue to rehab and work hard to then assess when he starts play for the ’16/’17 season.”

The first PGA Tour event of the 2016-17 season is the Safeway Classic, played Oct. 13-16 in Napa, Calif.

Woods has not competed since August 2015, when he finished T-10 at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C. Since then, Woods has undergone a pair of back surgeries: a microdiscectomy in September 2015 and an undisclosed follow-up procedure the next month, both on the same portion of Woods’ back where a microdiscectomy was performed in April 2014.

When the PGA Championship was last played at Baltusrol in 2005, Woods finished tied for fourth place, two shots behind winner Phil Mickelson. [/restrict]